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I already had this nagging feeling I wasn’t doing enough to keep Seabass’ teeth clean. (Can we use toothpaste? How often do we brush? Is this just the practice round until he gets his real teeth?) But then I saw it: A brown, dead molar.

He was in the swing at the park, feet dangling and mouth open wide with glee. At first I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me. That couldn’t be a dead tooth, I thought, but then he swung forward again with his mouth open, and my certainty faded. Upon stopping his swing and prying his mouth open to look, I knew we were dealing with something serious.

A friend of mine once had to have her 20-month-old daughter’s tooth pulled because it already had a cavity. Thoughts of a dentist’s chair cradling a sedated Seabass entered my mind. And the expense. I called Jake at work.

“Jake, Seabass has a dead, brown tooth.” [Beat.] “Hello?!?!?”

“Yes I’m here.”

“Well? I mean, do we have dental insurance for him?”

“Uh, no. No we don’t. Are you sure there’s something wrong with his tooth?”

[Exasperated.] “Yes I’m sure!”

“Did you touch it?”

“No. Should I?”

“Yeah, touch it and see if he winces.”

I looked down at Seabass’ happy little face and asked him to sit still so I could touch his moss tooth. The instant my finger made contact, something brown and slimy slid off.

2 Responses to “Domestic Disturbance #3”

Way to dodge a bullet there. But speaking from experience I cannot encourage you enough to brush those little teeth daily, and start taking him to the dentist early. We waited and Hayden had to get several crowns AND we had to do it at the hospital under general anasthetic. It was horrible! (and costly)